Three new faculty added to address agricultural, agribusiness challenges in Rio Grande Valley
Producers and students to benefit from additional expertise of Texas A&M Department of Agricultural Economics
Three new faculty members who will address agriculture and agribusiness challenges in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley have joined the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Science Department of Agricultural Economics.
Manuel García, Ph.D., professor and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agricultural economist, will work on educational programs and applied research at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco.
Felipe Peguero, Ph.D., assistant professor based at the Texas A&M AgriLife center at Weslaco and the Texas A&M Higher Education Center at McAllen, will teach and conduct research.
Xavier Villavicencio, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, is based at the higher education center and will serve as a full-time instructor.
Continuing to build a presence in the Rio Grande Valley
“These new faculty are an addition to our growing number of agricultural economics experts based in the Rio Grande Valley to help meet teaching, research and extension needs and address challenges for agriculture and agribusiness in this very important region of agricultural production,” said Rudy Nayga, Ph.D., head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Bryan-College Station.
Nayga said the varied experience in applied economics, teaching, research and extension of these new faculty will benefit producers and support the region’s agricultural industry in the long term by graduating students who are prepared for careers in agriculture and agribusiness.
“The addition of these new faculty members will help fill the need for well-educated professionals in agriculture and agribusiness as well as give agricultural producers insights that will help them make important financial and risk-based decisions about their operations,” he said.
Garcia to promote sustainable agricultural growth
Garcia has agricultural production experience in Latin America as well as university-level teaching experience. He will be involved in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of curricula and AgriLife Extension education programs.
He also will be involved in applied research related to farm and risk management, marketing and finance, and analysis of economic choices and their impacts, as well as other issues facing crop and livestock producers and industry clientele.
“As a new agricultural economist in this region, I am excited to work with local producers, county agents, researchers and the community to promote sustainable agricultural growth and enhance the region’s food systems through economic analysis,” Garcia said.
Garcia earned his doctoral and master’s degrees in agricultural and applied economics from Texas Tech University. He also holds a bachelor’s in environmental and rural development from Zamorano University in Honduras.
Before joining AgriLife Extension, Garcia was an agricultural consultant conducting quantitative research among cocoa farmers in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
Before returning to the U.S., Gracia served as an extension agent in the Department of Environment and Rural Development at Zamorano University. He managed the university’s agroecological farm, which trained more than 500 second-year students in sustainable agricultural practices. He also personally trained more than 100 medium- and small-scale farmers in sustainable agricultural systems throughout Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala.
Peguero to concentrate on optimizing food systems
Peguero’s areas of expertise include production economics, demand analysis, financial analysis, climate finance and agribusiness.
At the Texas A&M Higher Education Center, his instruction will focus on international trade and farm and ranch management. His research at the Texas A&M AgriLife center in Weslaco will center around optimizing food systems in ways that improve climate resilience and economic benefits.
Peguero is also interested in studying how countries can effectively support farmers and food industries in meeting environmental adaptation and mitigation goals. His other areas of interest include evaluating the economic impacts of emerging agricultural diseases and cost-effective control and prevention strategies for farmers.
“Texas A&M University has given me the unique opportunity to develop a research and educational program tailored to the reality and conditions of the Rio Grande Valley,” he said. “I am confident that my experience in ag production, agribusiness, economics and climate finance, jointly with the professional support I have here, will help me excel in these activities.”
He earned his bachelor’s in food science from Zamorano University in Honduras. He earned two master’s in Costa Rica – one in international agribusiness management from the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center of the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, CATIE, and one in business administration at the INCAE Business School. He earned his doctorate in agricultural economics from Louisiana State University.
Before joining Texas A&M, Peguero worked as a specialist in agricultural economics and climate finance for the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center in Costa Rica. There he provided technical support to agricultural development projects across Latin America and the Caribbean. At CATIE, he also served as a livestock and agroforestry economist.
Villavicencio brings expertise in agricultural markets and management
Villavicencio will teach Fundamentals of Agricultural Economic Analysis to juniors and Macroeconomics of Agriculture to seniors.
He plans to share his applied knowledge to instruct students in the use of specialized software and tools for data analysis, particularly for students who expect to pursue a career in agricultural economics and finance. He will also mentor and recruit students.
His areas of expertise include agricultural markets, agribusiness management, risk management, international trade, climate change, applied econometrics, finance and banking.
“As a professor of agricultural economics, I aim to bridge theoretical knowledge with practical applications to benefit students, agribusinesses and the community in the Rio Grande Valley,” Villavicencio said.
“Combining rigorous academic content with real-world examples in my classes, I am committed to fostering an engaging and supportive learning environment, encouraging students to pursue innovative solutions for local and global agricultural challenges,” he said. “My goal is to inspire and equip the next generation of agricultural economists to make meaningful contributions to the region’s agribusiness and stakeholder interests.”
Villavicencio earned his doctorate in agricultural economics at Texas A&M and has a master’s in economics from University of Chile and bachelor’s in economics from Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral in Ecuador.
Previously, he was a postdoctoral AgriLife Extension associate and research scientist at the center in Weslaco, where he performed applied research and extension activities for the agency’s South Texas district. He also was an intern supervisor and instructor at the agency’s summer research program on Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense.
In Ecuador, Villavicencio taught financial and marketing management for agribusinesses and the economics of agricultural production. He also taught courses in environmental economics, econometrics, microeconomics and applied statistics for economics.
